Best character restaurant?

[robandkelly13]

We have a three year old daughter and we're wondering which character dinigs are the best. Thanks.

 

[TxRabbit]

Best is really relative and depends on what your family likes best and what you are looking for in your dining experience. Our best dining experiences have generally been when we eat at an off time, usually the beginning of the dining shift. We find that we get more character time (often multiple visits from the characters) and spend less time in lines at the buffets. I think timing may be more of issue affecting your dining experience, especially with your DD.

 

[dzneelvr]

Chef Mickey (Contempory Resort--one monorail stop from MK) for breakfast is a fun meal with Mickey and his best friends; the Princess meal in Norway (EPCOT--take the monorail and exit at the Transportation Center. there you will board another monorail directly to EPCOT--it's an excellent ride) is brimming with the Disney princesses and it's a good alternative to Cinderella's castle in MK. also in MK, the Crystal Palace has Winnie the Pooh and friends. Just confirm it's a character meal when making your dining reservations. And be prepared for some shyness or fear. We've witnessed many such episodes over the years and 2-3 seems to be a prime age for such--you can gear if she's up to it by how she reacts to Santa Claus in the mall, etc.

 

[Hootch]

from my point of view. If you read through any number of restaurant reviews on the site, you will see that opinions and needs vary greatly. I hope this helps.

Crystal Palace - food is some best for character dining. Pooh characters so kids tend to love them. Nice restaurant in the heart of MK. Serves B/L/D

Chef Mickey's - food not as good as Crystal Palace. The main characters in one meal; Mickey, Minney, Donald, Goofy and Pluto. Fun for the kids with periodic flag waving parades around restaurant.

Cape May - Better food than Chef Mickey's. Minney is missing.

Hollywood and Vine - Little Einstein and Jo Jo's Circus characters if your daughter likes these shows. We've never been but others on the board like it.

Cinderella's Royal Table - Food is good not great. It's in Cinderella's Castle which makes it a must for us because of my daughter. Cinderella is downstairs for greeting and pictures. There are four princesses at lunch and dinner for meet and greet during the meal. It can be expensive.

Askerhaus - similar to Cinderella's but in the Norway pavillion in Epcot. One table service credit if on the dining plan versus two for Cinderella.

Our favorite is CRT because of my daughter. I think Crystal Palace is better overall for food and character interaction. Hope this helps

 

[PrincessDisney96]

We like Crystal Palace for lunch, Chef Mickey's for dinner, and Akershus for breakfast.

Crystal Palace- We love Crystal Palace for lunch. It is located in the Magic Kingdom. It is a very nice break from the park! Anyway, it includes Winnie the Pooh and friends. We had great character interaction and the characters came over more then once to our table. Also, they spent a lot of time with our kids and really made their day! The food is actually very good. It is a buffet and everyone in the family finds something they like there. There is a little kids section where they have chicken tenders, macoroni and cheese, etc. for your dd. To make it better they have a little parade where kids can walk around the restaurant with Pooh!

Chef Mickey's- We go to Chef Mickey's every single trip for dinner. The kids always have to eat here! The characters include.. Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Pluto. The characters are really sweet! It is also a buffet with many selections. They have an amazing dessert bar that a lot of kids love. There are a BUNCH of ice cream toppings, mickey rice crispie treats, brownies and WAY more! We usually go here either the first or last day to start the trip well or end it good!

Akershus- If your dd loves princesses this is the place to go!(In Norway in Epcot) There are many princesses! When we went the past two times for breakfast we saw, Princess Aurora (sleeping beauty), Jasmine, Snow White, Mulan. and Ariel. I hear that sometimes Cinderella makes a stop! My dd loves it soooo much here, and I'd have to say all of the princesses are great with interaction. Maybe one of the best places we have ever had interaction in Walt Disney World. I love what they say! For example, when Sleeping Beauty was leaving she said "Sweet dreams" to my daughter. I think they say the most adorable things. The food is good too. They bring it out to you, and if you want more of something you just ask. They served us fresh fruit, bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, potato casserole(YUM!), biscuits, and cinnamon rolls. There is also a cold "mini buffet" you can go to with more treats!

Those are our top 3 character places! Hopefully your dd will have a magical trip!

 

[natnelliesmom]

My DD3 loved the Akershus BF in Norway. I think it's the most princesses for your money! The food was so good! Dinner there is not so yummy- unless you enjoy smoked fish or lots of cheeses and cold meats.
Crystal Palace is fun too- the Pooh characters are always exciting for the little ones. Excellent buffet- lots of fresh fruits- and desserts.
DD3 also enjoyed the Little Einsteins and Jojo.
Any of them are fun- but with a 3 y/o you may want to skip the castle as it's pricey and the ambience is lost on the kids! Save that for when she's older. You only get a few characters there anyway. (if you ask me... 6 foot mice are a little strange!)
You do know to book your BFs early in the parks before they open? It gets you in before the rope drop and puts you in a good position to get to the good rides first after you eat. It's also a great opportunity to get photo ops without other tourists in the background. Think your daughter- alone- in front of the castle! Very cool.
-Sarah